In the Missouri race for Lieutenant Governor, Brad Lager is touting his endorsement from the Fraternal Order of Police. From his press release:

“To receive the endorsement of an organization whose mission is to provide support to those on the front line keeping our citizens and families safe is truly an honor,” said Lager.

Indeed.

Now, while one cannot blame a candidate in a tough race for wanting all the support he can garner, the key questions involve what Senator Lager commited to in order to receive the endorsement of the union, and whether there is anything at all that a public union wants that is not the exact opposite of what taxpayers want. Put another way, the nature of a public union is to want the opposite of taxpayers.

Public employee unions, no matter what uniform they wear, are formed in the words of Samuel Gompers, to get "MORE". That is it. More and truly, more for less.

Who thinks that the firefighter union shop steward gains that position on a platform of looking out for taxpayers? The union shop steward whether SEIU, AFSCME, FOP or IAFF gains his or her postion by promising to get the members the best deal against the taxpayers. Period.

“… Meticulous attention should be paid to the special relationships and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the government. All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

To be fair Lager's opponent, current Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder's flirtation with the firefighter unions, is a source of great concern to taxpayers as well. It also may be the real reason the police union backs Lager; the unions often clash with each other more than with Republicans. Kinder endorsed the firefighter's union candidate over the objection of all of the local Republicans except Representative Cole McNary. It came at a time in which the very crafty union firefighters were not publicly endorsing Swyers although it was known to all locally that that his loyalty was with the unions as his own son was a member who has since received a phenomenal pay raise, and Swyer's record is 100% perfectly alligned with the union.

Perhaps Kinder and the firefighters are more tuned in to the point of this Patriots Primer as there is no evidence of a public endorsement of Kinder that we have found. So publicly, Kinder appears to be clean, the Swyers endorsement notwithstanding. There may be a more insidious reason for Kinder's "purity".

Here is a cautionary note to Republican candidates-a Patriot Candidates Primer. Kinder's endorsement of Swyers was huge to the union. They won and won big. While the reason they have not endorsed Kinder may be the source of speculation, there is another interesting piece of speculation.

The Missouri State Council of Firefighters has refused to endorse Kinder, referring to the Lieutenant Governor endorsement as "open". The races in which the endorsements are "closed" include the firefighter unions endorsements of Lager's campaign consultant Jeff Roe's other clients, Congressman Sam Graves and senate candidate Scott Largent (their "favorite"). Did Kinder eschew the fighfighter endorsement or did Roe have the juice to convince them to sell out Kinder and leave the endorsement "open"? For what Kinder gave them they certainly owe him, but unions are every bit the businesses they claim to oppose in that their profit motive and loyalty to Democrats leaves them with a long trail of Republicans they have thrown under the bus. Kinder would not be the first. Either way, his non endorsement by public unions and his opponent's contrasting courting of unions gives patriots a solid reason to retain Kinder.

This Patriots Primer is a two-fer. Public unions want "more" and they want taxpayers to cough it up. When Republicans lie down with them they wake up wondering where they contracted the fleas. Even FDR found abject immorality in the formation of the public unions some Republicans now embrace, and the savvy patriot is never fooled, knowing that every union is an arm of the Democratic party, funding their collectivist agendas at an average rate of 90% of all of their campaign activity. The Republican candidate who claims "honor" in the endorsement of any anti-taxpayer group, particularly public employee unions plays the taxpayers for fools.